Monitoring circuitry

ABSTRACT

In an example, monitoring circuitry includes a first and second coupling, at least one of which is to capacitively couple the monitoring circuitry to a monitored circuit on a product packaging. The monitored circuit has a resistance which is indicative of a status of a product stored in the product packaging, and the monitored circuit is to be connected in series between the first coupling and the second coupling. The monitoring apparatus may determine the resistance of the monitored circuit via the first and second couplings.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/098,175, filed on Nov. 1, 2018, which is a U.S. NationalStage under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No.PCT/EP2016/067204, filed Jul. 19, 2016, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Monitoring circuitry may be used to monitor the status of a monitoredcircuit. For example, monitoring circuitry may be used in conjunctionwith ‘smart packages’. Smart packages are packages which are capable ofperforming functions in addition to containing products. For examplethey may comprise security functions, or provide verification of aproduct's source or the like. In some examples, smart packages may bemonitored to determine if the interior of a storage volume has beenaccessed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Examples will now be described, by way of non-limiting example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a simplified schematic diagram of example monitoringcircuitry;

FIG. 1B shows an equivalent electric circuit of the example monitoringcircuitry of FIG. 1A coupled with an example monitored circuit;

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example coupling;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are simplified schematic diagrams of examples ofmonitoring circuitry;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show an example packaging;

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic diagram of example blister packmonitor;

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic diagram of an example blister pack; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method of determining the resistanceof a monitored circuit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the drawings, where it aids clarity, like parts are labelled withlike numbers.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of example monitoring circuitry 100comprising a first coupling 102 and a second coupling 104, the first andsecond couplings 102, 104 being to electrically couple the monitoringcircuitry to a monitored circuit 106 (shown in dotted line) having aresistance R which is provided on a product packaging. At least oneelectrical coupling to be formed between the monitored circuit 106 andthe monitoring circuitry 100 is a capacitive coupling. The resistance Rof the monitored circuit 106 is indicative of a status of the product,and the monitored circuit 106 is coupled to the monitoring circuitry 100via, in this example, a first and second coupling pad 108, 110 of themonitored circuit, and at least one pad 108, 110 is to form, in use, acapacitive coupling to the first and second couplings 102, 104. At leastone coupling pad 108, 110 may form, in effect, a respective plate of aparallel plate capacitor, with the corresponding first and/or secondcoupling 102, 104 providing an opposing plate.

In an example, the monitored circuit 106 may comprise a conductive trackprovided (for example, printed using conductive ink) on a productpackaging. The track may be broken by accessing the interior of thepackaging, changing the overall resistance of the monitored circuit 106.In some examples, this may be a change from a relatively low resistance(the resistance of the monitored track) to a high resistance (theresistance of an interrupted track). Each coupling pad 108, 110 maycomprise at least one printed region of conductive ink. The conductiveink may for example comprise conductive particles such as metals orcarbon. In some examples, as is discussed in greater detail below, thecoupling pads 108, 110 may further comprise a dielectric layer, forexample printed or otherwise applied to the pad 108, 110. In someexamples, the monitored circuit 106 may comprises a plurality of suchtracks which are interlinked to form the monitored circuit 106 andbreaking one track may change the resistance of the monitored circuit106. In other examples, the resistance of each track of the plurality oftracks may be monitored.

In one example, the packaging may comprise a blister pack for dispensingmedication and a plurality of tracks may be provided, one trackassociated with each ‘blister’. When the blister is broken to dispense apill, the track (which may be printed on a frangible substrate such aspaper or the like) may be broken and thus the resistance associated withthe circuit increases (in some examples, becoming very high). Otherpackage types may also comprise monitored storage volumes, for example,a track may run over a closure of a box or bag type container and bebroken when the closure is opened. In some examples, the monitoringcircuitry 100 may be removably coupled to such packaging.

The monitoring circuitry 100 comprises monitoring apparatus 112 todetermine the resistance of the monitored circuit 106 via the couplings102, 104. The monitoring apparatus 112 may for example comprise any, orany combination of, at least one current source, at least one voltagesource, at least one voltmeter, at least one ammeter, at least oneenergy source (for example a battery or the like), at least onecapacitance meter, or the like.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic representation of a circuit formed when anexample monitoring circuitry 100 is coupled to a monitored circuit 106such that two capacitive couplings C1 and C2 are formed. In thisexample, the monitoring apparatus 112 comprises an alternating voltagesource 114, an ammeter 116 and processing circuitry 118. As can be seen,the monitored circuit 106 is connected in series between the capacitivecouplings C1 and C2 formed between the monitored circuit 106 and themonitoring circuitry 100.

A capacitance C may be defined as the equivalent capacitance of both C1and C2 couplings, wherein 1/C=1/C1+1/C2. As in this example, themonitored circuit 106 comprises no other capacitive elements, C is thecapacitance of the monitored circuit 106.

If the capacitance C is known or could be determined, (which in thisexample comprises knowing or determining C1 and C2), and the resistanceR can be determined using a number of equations.

In particular, the capacitive reactance Xc is related to the circuitcapacitance by the relationship:

Xc=1/(2πfC), where f is the frequency of the applied AC voltage, andXc=X _(C1) +X _(C2)

In addition, an impedance Z may be defined as the impedance measured bythe monitoring apparatus 112, which includes both the monitored circuitresistance and the couplings reactance. The impedance may be determinedby applying an AC voltage at frequency f to the circuit and determiningthe current:Z=V/I

Impedance Z is related to resistance and capacitance by therelationship:Z ² =R ² +Xc ²

Thus, if V, f and C are predetermined and I is measured, R may becalculated.

The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor is based on a number offactors, including the separation of the plates, the extent of overlapof the plates, area of the plates, the condition of the plates and anydielectric and the like. In some examples, the capacitances may beknown. For example, the surface area of the coupling pads 108, 110 andthe couplings 102, 104 may be known or estimated, as may the extent oftheir overlap, their separation and the permittivity of any dielectrictherebetween. This allows the capacitance C to be calculated orestimated.

However, in practice, the capacitance C (or the capacitances C1 and C2)may be unknown and/or may vary over time.

For example, the monitored circuit 106 may be provided on a package of aconsumable product, and/or the monitoring circuitry 100 may be for usewith a plurality of monitored circuits 106. Where the monitoringcircuitry 100 is to be, for example, used in conjunction with apackaging, it may be clipped or secured thereto, but there may be atleast some possibility of relative movement or misplacement, which maychange an area of overlap of the ‘plates’ of the capacitive coupling(s).In other examples, at least one of the couplings 102, 104 or pads 108,110 may be corroded, damage or misshapen, or there may be an air gap ora contaminant (for example, dust, grease or dirt) on top of an intendeddielectric separation, or the dielectric may vary in properties (orchange over time). Therefore, the capacitance of a capacitive couplingmay vary from a nominal state.

If the actual capacitance/impedance could be determined and/or at leastsubstantially negated, this may improve the accuracy with which theresistance R of the monitored circuit 106 could be determined.

In some examples set out herein, the monitoring apparatus 112 may be toacquire a plurality of electrical measurements and to use the pluralityof electrical measurements to determine a value of the resistance R evenif the capacitance of the coupled circuits (i.e. the monitoringcircuitry 100 and the monitored circuit 106 when capacitively coupled)is at least initially unknown. This may increase the accuracy with whichthe resistance of a partially or wholly broken track may be determined.In some examples (see for example, FIG. 6 below), where a plurality ofsuch tracks which are interlinked, this may allow a smaller differencein resistance to be determined, which may in turn increase the number ornumber of options for interlinking the tracks. Even in examples whereeach track is monitored individually, the resistance of a track may behigh when the track is complete (i.e. unbroken) in order to reduceenergy consumption (i.e. to keep current flow low). In such examples,the resistive difference between a whole and a broken or partiallybroken track may be small and therefore increasing the accuracy withwhich the resistance may be determined may assist in discriminationbetween a whole and broken (or partially broken) track.

In a first example now described with reference to the examples of FIG.1A and FIG. 1B, the capacitance C is determined. While in some examples,this could be estimated based on the separation and overlap area of thepads 108, 110 and the couplings 102, 104 and the permittivity of adielectric, in other examples, such as is set out below, the monitoringcircuitry 100 may operate as a capacitance meter and determine thecapacitance using electrical measurements.

In some examples, the capacitance of the combined circuit may bedetermined as follows. The alternating voltage source 114 may be used toprovide an alternating current in the monitoring circuitry 100 and themonitored circuit 106 by supplying alternating current of a first andsecond frequency. The monitoring apparatus 112 is to measure the current(in this example, using the ammeter 116), and the determined current maybe used by the processing circuitry 118, as outlined above, to determinethe impedance Z at each frequency. A first impedance is an impedance ofa circuit formed between the first coupling 102 and the second coupling104 via the monitored circuit 106 when the voltage source 114 suppliesvoltage of the first frequency (f1). A second impedance is an impedanceof a circuit formed between the first coupling 102 and the secondcoupling 104 via the monitored circuit 106 when the voltage source 114supplies voltage of the second frequency (f2).

As has been stated above:Xc=X _(C1) +X _(C2) ,Xc=1/(2πfC), and Z ² =R ² +X _(C) ²

X_(C) is therefore a function of the frequency and can be assessed anddeducted using measurement in two frequency conditions:X _(Cf1)=1/(2πf1C)X _(Cf2)=1/(2πf2C)Z _(f1) ² =R ²+(X _(Cf1))²Z _(f2) ² =R ²+(X _(Cf2))²

The difference in impedances may be used to derive C, using therelationships:Z _(diff) ² =Zf ₁ ² −Z _(f2) ² =X _(Cf1) ² −X _(Cf2)²=(½πC)²×(1/f1²−1/f2²).

Thereafter, R may be calculated.

In another example, the capacitance could be measured using any otherexample of capacitance meter.

In another example, the impact of the value of the capacitance C isrendered minimal. In this example, the AC voltage source 114 supplies analternating voltage of a variable frequency. In this example, themonitoring apparatus 112 is to determine, for each of a plurality offrequencies, an impedance Z of a circuit formed between the firstcoupling 102 and the second coupling 104 via the monitored circuit 106.The monitoring apparatus 112 determines a frequency threshold abovewhich, for a predetermined frequency difference, the impedance differsby less than a predetermined amount and determines the resistance of themonitored circuit when a current of at least the threshold frequency isapplied thereto.

This method makes use of the relationship, as stated above:Xc=1/(2πfC),Z ² =R ² +Xc ²

From this relationship, it may be noted that Xc decreases as thefrequency increases, so if the frequency is high enough that Xc becomesnegligible, determining the impedance is effectively the same asdetermining R.

For example, the frequency of the current may be increased, for examplein a stepwise manner, until the difference between impedancemeasurements between frequency steps is within a threshold amount.

In another example, a first determination of impedance may be made at ahigh frequency, and a subsequent determination of impedance may be madeat a lower frequency, and the difference between these values determinedand compared to a threshold. This may allow a determination of whetherthe high frequency is high enough such that Xc is negligible (i.e. ifthe difference is within a threshold, the high frequency may be deemedto be ‘high enough’). In some examples, this method may be employedinitially and, if it is found that even the highest frequency availablefrom a monitoring circuitry is not sufficiently high, another method,for example, a method of estimating or determining the capacitancedirectly as described above, may be employed.

In some examples now described, each coupling 102, 104 of the monitoringcircuitry 100 comprises a plurality of galvanically separated connectionelements.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a coupling 200 which comprises twogalvanically separated connection elements 202, 204, wherein theconnection elements are to connect with a common coupling pad 206 (whichis shown in dotted outline, and which could be either of coupling pad108, 110) of the monitored circuit 106. These connection elements 202are galvanically separated from one another, in the sense that there isno continuous electrical circuit formed via the connection elements 202,204 within the monitoring circuitry 100. However, the connectionelements 202, 204 may be electrically connected in use, for example viathe common coupling pad 206 of the monitored circuit 106, so as to formpart of a continuous circuit.

In an example, each coupling pad 206 may comprise a conductive regioncovering a spatial area. For example, the common coupling pad 206 maycomprise a region of a substrate printed with conductive ink (and, insome examples, over printed with a dielectric). The substrate may forexample comprise a plastic, metal, cardboard, paper or any other kind ofsubstrate. In this example, each galvanically separated connectionelement 202, 204 is also a contact pad which may for example be formedof metal or any other conductive material and together the connectionelements 202, 204 have a cross surface which is substantially similar tothe surface area of the common coupling pad 206. The galvanicallyseparated connection elements 202, 204 may be intended to be separatedfrom the common coupling pad 206 by a dielectric, which may for examplecomprise a polymer layer, such as polyethylene (the relativepermittivity of polyethylene is 2.25). Such a layer may be applied, forexample printed, onto the substrate, overlying at least the coupling pad206 (and in some examples providing a protective coating to a largerregion of the substrate, for example to the whole surface thereof, or toat least the portions thereof bearing conductive tracks). Such adielectric may for example be provided as a layer on top of the commoncoupling pad 206 on a substrate. This may protect the common couplingpad 206 from wear or damage. In other examples, the dielectric maycomprises a different material, for example paper, Teflon and otherplastics. In some examples, air could serve as a dielectric.

It may be noted that the capacitive coupling in this example is formedbetween ‘plates’ which may be formed, at least on the monitored circuit106, of areas of ink. These areas may be of a size intended to provide aparticular level of capacitance (bearing in mind that capacitance isproportional to the area of a plate in a parallel plate capacitor). Insome examples, the coupling pads may be in the order of millimetres, ora few centimetres, in diameter.

FIG. 3 shows another example of monitoring circuitry 300 in which eachof a first and second coupling comprises two galvanically separatedconnection elements 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, 304 b.

The galvanically separated connection elements 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, 304b of each coupling are to capacitively couple with a coupling pad 108,110 of the monitored circuit 106. In this example the monitoringapparatus 112 is to determine a number of impedance values.

The monitoring apparatus 112 in this example comprises a resistor r, anAC voltage source 114, a voltmeter 308, arranged to measure the voltageover the resistor r and processing circuitry 118. The resistance ofresistor r is predetermined and constant (as it is part of themonitoring circuitry 100). The monitoring apparatus 112 also comprisestwo switches 306 a, 306 b, each of which can be independently controlledto connect with the connection elements 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, 304 b ofeach coupling. Each switch connects with two connection elements 302 a,302 b of one coupling and one connection element 304 a, 304 b of theother coupling. In some examples, each switch may allow a connectionwith each element 302 a, 302 b, 304 a, 304 b.

The monitoring apparatus 112 may be used to measure the voltage on theresistor (Vr) (i.e. the voltmeter 308 and the resistor r are arranged tofunction as an ammeter).

The capacitive reactance of a capacitance C is defined by: Xc=1/(2πfC)

The total Impedance Z of an RC circuit is defined by: Z²=R²+Xc²

The total capacitive reactance C of two capacitors (C1 and C2) in seriesis: Xc=Xc1+Xc2.

In this example six impedances are determined:

A first impedance of a circuit formed between the first and secondconnection elements of the first coupling via the common coupling pad108 (Z₁₁₋₂₁) (i.e. a first switch 306 a connects to one connectionelement 302 a of the first coupling and the second switch 306 b connectsto the other connection element 302 b of the first coupling);

a second impedance of a circuit formed between the first and secondconnection elements of the second coupling via the common coupling pad110 (Z₁₂₋₂₂) (i.e. the first switch 306 a connects to one connectionelement 304 b of the second coupling and the second switch 306 bconnects to the other connection element 304 a of the second coupling);

a third impedance of a circuit formed between the first connectionelement of the first coupling and the first connection element of thesecond coupling via the monitored circuit (Z₁₁₋₁₂) (i.e. the firstswitch 306 a connects to the first connection element 302 a of the firstcoupling and the second switch 306 b connects to the first connectionelement 304 a of the second coupling);

a fourth impedance of a circuit formed between the second connectionelement of the first coupling and second connection element of thesecond coupling via the monitored circuit (Z₂₁₋₂₂) (i.e. the firstswitch 306 a connects to the second connection element 302 b of thefirst coupling and the second switch 306 b connects to the secondconnection element 304 b of the second coupling);

a fifth impedance of a circuit formed between the first connectionelement of the first coupling and the second connection element of thesecond coupling via the monitored circuit (Z₁₁₋₂₂) (i.e. the firstswitch 306 a connects to the first connection element 302 a of the firstcoupling and the second switch 306 b connects to the second connectionelement 304 b of the second coupling); and

a sixth impedance of a circuit formed between the second connectionelement of the first coupling and the first connection element of thesecond coupling via the monitored circuit (Z₂₁₋₁₂) (i.e. the firstswitch 306 a connects to the second connection element 302 b of thefirst coupling and the second switch 306 b connects to the firstconnection element 304 a of the second coupling).

In this example, there are four capacitances to consider. C1 is thecapacitance of the coupling of first connection element 302 a of thefirst coupling and the monitored circuit, C2 is the capacitance of thecoupling of second connection element 302 a of the first coupling andthe monitored circuit 106, C3 is the capacitance of the coupling offirst connection element 304 a of the second coupling and the monitoredcircuit 106 and C4 is the capacitance of the coupling of secondconnection element 304 b of the second coupling and the monitoredcircuit 106.

Noting that:Z ₁₁₋₂₁ ² =X _(C1) ² +X _(C2) ²Z ₁₂₋₂₂ ² =X _(C3) ² +X _(C4) ²Z ₁₁₋₁₂ ² =X _(C1) ² +X _(C3) ² +R ²Z ₁₁₋₂₂ ² =X _(C1) ² +X _(C4) ² +R ²Z ₂₁₋₁₂ ² =X _(C2) ² +X _(C3) ² +R ²Z ₂₁₋₂₂ ² =X _(C2) ² +X _(C4) ² +R ²Now R can be calculated as:R ²=((Z ₁₁₋₁₂ ² +Z ₁₁₋₂₂ ² +Z ₂₁₋₁₂ ² +Z ₂₁₋₂₂ ²)/2−(Z ₁₁₋₂₁ ² +Z ₁₂₋₂₂²))/2

Thus, the value of the capacitance of the couplings has no effect on thedetermination of R.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a monitoring circuitry 400 in which first andsecond couplings each comprise a first 402 a, a second 402 b and a third402 c connection element which are galvanically separated as set outabove.

The monitoring apparatus 112 in this example comprises a capacitancemeasuring circuit 404 and processing circuitry 118. For examples, such acircuit 404 may be operated to charge a capacitor before allowing it todischarge, or may use a predetermined high-frequency alternating currentthrough a capacitor and measuring the voltage across it, or other methodmay be used to measure a capacitance. In this example, the monitoringapparatus is connected in turn between pairs of connection elements ofthe same coupling. Thus, the resistor of the monitored circuit 106 iseffectively removed from the circuit under test by being ‘shortcircuited’ by the common coupling pad 108, 110. As will be apparent,this allows the capacitance of each connection in isolation, andregardless of the components of the monitored circuit 106.

The monitoring apparatus 112 in this example determines:

a first capacitance, C₁₂, of a circuit formed between the first 402 aand second connection elements 402 b via the common coupling pad 108,110;

a second capacitance, C₂₃, of a circuit formed between the second 402 band third connection element 402 c via the common coupling pad 108, 110;and

a third capacitance, C₁₃, of a circuit formed between a first 402 a andthird 402 c connection element via the common coupling pad 108, 110.

The processing circuitry 118 uses the first, second and thirdcapacitances C₁₂, C₂₃, C₁₃ to determine a connection capacitance betweeneach connection element 402 a-c of a coupling and the common couplingpad 206 of the monitored circuit 106. In this example, the capacitancebetween the first connection element 402 a and the common coupling pad206 is C₁, the capacitance between the second connection element 402 band the common coupling pad 206 is C₂ and the capacitance between thethird connection element 402 c and the common coupling pad 206 is C₃.

In this example, therefore:1/C ₁₂=1/C ₁+1/C ₂1/C ₂₃=1/C ₂+1/C ₃1/C ₁₃3=1/C ₁+1/C ₃

The assumption is that the resistance of the common coupling pad 108,110 is negligible.

The monitoring apparatus 112 measures C₁₂, C₂₃, and C₁₃.

Now C₁, C₂ and C₃ can be calculated:C ₂=1/(1/C ₃+1/C ₁₂−1/C ₁₃)/2)C ₁=1/(1/C ₁₂−1/C ₂)C ₃=1/(1/C ₁₃−1/C ₁)

The capacitance of the other coupling may be determined in a similarmanner.

Once the capacitances of the connections are determined, R may bedetermined as outlined above. In some examples, R may be determined viaone connection element of each coupling 102, 104. However, theconnection elements may be connected in parallel in which case thecapacitance of the coupling is the sum of the connection elements of theelements so connected. This provides a higher capacitance, which in turnallows for easier discrimination between changes in the value of R.

FIGS. 5A and 5B respectively show a plan and side view of example ofpackaging 500 comprising a storage volume 502 which comprises aninterior, a monitoring track 504 and two coupling pads 506. Themonitoring track 504 comprises conductive ink, and the coupling pads 506comprise a first layer 508 of conductive ink and a second layer 510 of adielectric material. When the interior of the storage volume 502 isaccessed, the monitoring track 504 is interrupted. In this example, themonitoring track 504 comprises a serpentine configuration such thataccess to the interior of the storage volume 502 is prevented unless thetrack 504 is broken.

The second layer 510 may comprise a polymer. While the second layer 510in this example is present in the region of the coupling pads 506, itcould be provided over a greater area of the packaging, and in someexamples over the monitoring track 504, which may protect the track 504from damage. The thickness and relative thickness of the packaging 500,track 504 and layers 508, 510 as shown is intended purely as a schematicrepresentation.

In some examples, track(s) 504 may be printed as part of a packagingmanufacturing process, for example in line with any color printing ofthe packaging, for example to provide a particular visual effect, or toprovide information. The example of the Figure is one example ofpackaging, other examples comprising bag-type packages, box-typepackages, cartons, sachets, and many others.

FIG. 6 shows an example of monitoring circuitry and packaging. In thisexample, the packaging comprises a blister pack 604 and the monitoringcircuitry comprises a blister pack monitor 600.

The blister pack 604 comprises at least one (in this example, ten)storage volumes 606 and at least one (in this example, ten) monitoringtracks 608 which are interrupted to provide access to an interior of theassociated storage volume 606. For example, each storage volume 606 mayinitially house a pill or tablet, and be closed with a frangible, forexample, paper-like, covering. The covering of each storage volume 606may bear part of a conductive monitoring track 608 (which in someexamples may be printed thereon using conductive ink), which in theexample of the figure has a serpentine configuration to ensure that itis broken when the pill is accessed, although this need not be the casein all examples. The tracks 608 may initially have a relatively lowresistance, this will become high (in some examples, very high) when thetrack 608 is broken, for example by removing a pill.

Each track 608 can be seen as lying between a pair of two coupling pads614 (with one coupling pad 614 being common to all tracks 608). In thisexample, the coupling pads 614 comprise a first layer of conductive ink(for example, an ink comprising carbon or metallic particles, or thelike) and a second layer. The second layer comprises a dielectricmaterial, which may be a printed dielectric layer, for examplepolyethylene. Each coupling pad 614 is to form a capacitive connectionwith a monitoring apparatus. Thus, in this example, the packaging isprinted to provide ten monitored circuits, provided by the ten tracks.

For example a pad may have a radius of about 3 mm and a surface area ofA=25 mm². The presence of a dielectric layer means that a capacitiveconnection may be formed between the blister pack 604 and monitor 600when in contact as the dielectric layer provides a spacing between acoupling pad 614 and the couplings 610. Such a gap (i.e. the depth ofthe dielectric layer) in an example may be around d=4 μm. Assuming adielectric material of polyethylene with dielectric constant ε=2.25, andthe vacuum permittivity: ε₀=8.8541878176 . . . ×10-12 F/m and thesurface area of the pads 614 is matched by an adjacent surface area of acoupling 610, this results in an estimated capacitance for each couplingof C=(ε×ε₀×A)/d=6 pF.

In some examples, this determined value may be used as the value for Cfor the circuit. In other examples, C may be determined and used todetermine the resistance R of each track 608, or the effect of thecapacitance reduced in determining the resistance R of each track 608.Determining or effectively substantially negating the capacitance of thecouplings allows any mis-alignment between pads (effectively reducingthe value of A), changes in the dielectric constant of the dielectriclayer, variations in the thickness thereof, or the presence of anadditional gap (e.g. an airgap) to be taken into account.

The blister pack monitor 600 comprises a securing element 602 (in thisexample, a slot providing a substantially interference fit) to securerhw blister pack 604. In some examples, the securing element 602 maycomprise a clamp or a clip or the like to secure the blister pack 604with a gripping force, which may in some examples be applied andremoved. In other examples, the securing element 602 may for examplecomprise an adhesive, or a coupling material such as part of a ‘hook andloop’ fastening, with the corresponding part being provided on a blisterpack 604. In other examples, the blister pack 604 may comprises anelement, such as a ridge or a hole, which interacts with or receives atleast part of a securing element. Other examples of securing elementsmay be provided.

The blister pack monitor 600 further comprises in this example elevencouplings 610 which provide an electrical coupling with a monitoringtrack 608 of a secured blister pack 604. It will be noted that a firstcoupling 610 is associated with each track 608, (i.e. ten such couplingsare provided), whereas a second coupling 610 is shared and would be usedto interrogate each of the tracks 608 and electronic monitoringapparatus 612 to determine a status of the monitoring track. In otherwords, in this example, there is one coupling 610 for each track 608,and one additional coupling 610.

Each coupling 610 may comprise a continuous connection pad (for exampleas described in relation to FIGS. 1A and 1B) or a plurality ofgalvanically separated connection elements as discussed above withreference to FIGS. 2-4. The surface area of a coupling may besubstantially equal to the area of a pad 614. In some examples, thesurface area may be larger or smaller than that of a pad 614, to allowfor a mis-alignment or changes in alignment between a pad 614 and thecoupling 610 without changes in capacitance. In the case that thecouplings 610 are divided into separated connection elements, the valueof A for each capacitive coupling formed is correspondingly reduced (forexample, for well aligned pads 614 and couplings 610 as described inrelation to FIGS. 2 and 3, the area A of each connection element wouldbe slightly less than half the value of the surface area of the pads614).

The couplings 610 in this example are arranged in a ‘triangle packing’arrangement, in which rows of the couplings are offset. This allows arelatively close packing, which in turn allows the volume of thecouplings 610 to be increased, which has the effect of increasing thecapacitance of each coupling 610 compared to a smaller coupling 610.

Some but not all of the storage volumes 606, tracks 608, couplings 610and pads 614 are labelled to avoid overcomplicating the Figure.

The electronic monitoring apparatus 612 may determine the status of eachof a plurality of monitoring tracks 608 (i.e. whether the track iscomplete or interrupted), each of the tracks 608 being associated with adifferent storage volume 606. An interrupted track may be indicative ofa pill having been dispensed. For example, the electronic monitoringapparatus 612 may operate according to the principles set out inrelation to any of FIGS. 1 to 4. The methods may be carried out inrelation to each track 608 in turn.

In examples, the blister pack monitor 600 may comprise additionalcomponents, for example a communication port or facility to allow thestatus of a track to be communicated, for example by wireless or wiredcommunication. The blister pack monitor 600 may also comprise, forexample, an alarm (such as sound or light) to alert a patient that apill should be dispensed, and breaking the track may silence the alarm.

In some examples, a blister pack monitor 600 may comprise a plurality ofcouplings 610 to provide an electrical connection to each of a pluralityof monitoring tracks 608, and in which the number of couplings is lessthan the number of monitoring tracks.

In such an example, as is illustrated in relation to FIG. 7, a blisterpack 700 may be provided with tracks which are interconnected to form anetwork 702. For example, the tracks have a relatively high resistanceportion 704 associated with a storage volume and a relatively lowresistance portion 706 associated with a joining section. For example,the tracks may be printed with conductive inks (such as ink comprisingcarbon-nanotubes), in which narrower traces will exhibit higherresistance. Different resistance levels may for example be achieve byeither/both of printing with different widths and different thickness ofthe layer (for example by printing multiple layers of a conductive ink).In the example of FIG. 7, each network 702 may provide a monitoredcircuit, and the blister pack 700 is printed with four monitoredcircuits.

For the sake of example, the relatively high resistance portions 704 mayhave a resistance of around 4 KΩ, and the relatively low resistanceportions 706 may have a resistance of around 0.5 KΩ, as is representedby the equivalent circuit 708 showing three monitored tracks (monitoringthree storage volumes), which may be monitored within a single monitoredcircuit.

For these three storage volumes, there may be 8 combinations withresistance values. For the sake of example, a 0 is used to indicate thata storage volume has been accessed (e.g. a pill has been removed) and a1 indicates that the track is intact and the pill remains in the storagevolume:

Pills Total Resistance [ohms] 000 Infinite 001 7.0K 010 6.0K 011 4.2K100 5.0K 101 3.4K 110 3.2K 111 2.8K

As can be seen, if the resistance can be sufficiently accuratelydetermined, it is possible to know how many storage volumes have beenaccessed are out and even to know which of the storage volumes has beenaccessed with just two couplings. In total, the status of all 12 of thestorage volumes of a blister pack 700 arranged as shown in FIG. 7 can bedetermined with just five couplings (i.e. the packaging as shownprovides four distinct monitored circuits). Providing fewer couplingsmay reduce the complexity of an apparatus. In this example, thedifference between the resistance values is relatively small. A pack 700arranged according to the principles illustrated in FIG. 7 may becombined with the methods and principles described above in relation toFIG. 1-4.

FIG. 8 is an example of a method. The method comprises, in block 802,printing a substrate with conductive ink to provide a conductive trackhaving a first and second coupling pad. The coupling pads may extendover a region of the substrate and may be to form a capacitive couplingwith monitoring circuitry. In block 804, the connection pads areoverlaid or coated with a dielectric layer. In some examples, thedialectic layer may comprise a flexible material, for example comprisinga polymer, for example polyethylene. Such polymers are inexpensive andmay allow the substrate on which it is printed/applied to flex. In someexamples, the dielectric may comprises a rigid material (for example,comprising a ceramic) or semi-rigid, for example to add rigidity to thesubstrate. In some examples, the dielectric layer may be printed oversome or all of the substrate, or at least part of the substrate may beencapsulated or coated with a dielectric

In block 806, a product packaging comprising the substrate is formed,the product packaging comprising a storage volume such that the interiorof the storage volume cannot be accessed unless the conductive track isbroken.

The steps may be carried out in a different order to that presented inthe flow chart. For example, the substrate may be incorporated into thepackaging before it is printed.

The method may be a method for forming packaging as shown in FIG. 5, 6or 7.

As has been noted above, overlaying with a dielectric layer providesprotection to the underlying connection pad, protecting it from damage.In addition, the dielectric layer may effectively define a gap betweenthe plates of a parallel plate capacitor. This means that the monitoringapparatus and the substrate may be brought into contact while a gap ismaintained, which may in turn allow a more stable connection—bothphysically and electrically—to be formed. This in turn means that amonitoring apparatus is more likely to be capable of successfullycoupling with the packaging. In examples in which the dielectric layeris printed, this may be carried out in line with a printing process andtherefore need not unduly complicate a packaging manufacturing process.

Some aspects of examples in the present disclosure can be provided asmethods, systems or may utilise machine readable instructions, such asany combination of software, hardware, firmware or the like. Suchmachine readable instructions may be included on a computer readablestorage medium (including but is not limited to disc storage, CD-ROM,optical storage, etc.) having computer readable program codes therein orthereon. Such instructions may be executed by the processing circuitry118.

The present disclosure is described with reference to flow charts and/orblock diagrams of the method, devices and systems according to examplesof the present disclosure. Although the flow diagrams described aboveshow a specific order of execution, the order of execution may differfrom that which is depicted.

The machine readable instructions may, for example, be executed by ageneral purpose computer, a special purpose computer, an embeddedprocessor or processors of other programmable data processing devices torealize the functions described in the description and diagrams. Inparticular, a processor or processing apparatus may execute the machinereadable instructions. Thus the processing circuitry 118 may beimplemented by a processor executing machine readable instructionsstored in a memory, or a processor operating in accordance withinstructions embedded in logic circuitry. The term ‘processor’ is to beinterpreted broadly to include a CPU, processing unit, ASIC, logic unit,or programmable gate array etc. The methods and functional modules mayall be performed by a single processor or divided amongst severalprocessors.

Such machine readable instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable storage that can guide the computer or other programmable dataprocessing devices to operate in a specific mode.

Such machine readable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing devices, so that the computer orother programmable data processing devices perform a series ofoperations to produce computer-implemented processing

Further, some teachings herein may be implemented in the form of acomputer software product, the computer software product being stored ina storage medium and comprising a plurality of instructions for making acomputer device implement the methods recited in the examples of thepresent disclosure.

While the method, apparatus and related aspects have been described withreference to certain examples, various modifications, changes,omissions, and substitutions can be made without departing from thespirit of the present disclosure. It is intended, therefore, that themethod, apparatus and related aspects be limited only by the scope ofthe following claims and their equivalents. It should be noted that theabove-mentioned examples illustrate rather than limit what is describedherein, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design manyalternative implementations without departing from the scope of theappended claims. Features described in relation to one example may becombined with features of another example.

The word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements otherthan those listed in a claim, “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality,and a single processor or other unit may fulfil the functions of severalunits recited in the claims.

The features of any dependent claim may be combined with the features ofany of the independent claims or other dependent claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. Packaging comprising: a storage portion anda spatially distinct coupling portion; wherein the storage portionincludes a storage volume comprising multiple exterior surfacesincluding a given surface and an interior defined by one or more wallsextending laterally from the given surface, wherein one or moreinterfaces between the one or more walls and the given surfacecircumscribe a frangible opening for accessing the interior of thestorage volume, and wherein the coupling portion is free of any storagevolumes; a monitoring track, the monitoring track comprising conductiveink, wherein, when the interior of the storage volume is accessedthrough the given surface of the multiple exterior surfaces, themonitoring track is interrupted; and a capacitive coupling pad disposedon the coupling portion such that the capacitive coupling pad does notoverlap any frangible opening of any storage volumes, the capacitivecoupling pad comprising a first layer of conductive ink disposeddirectly on the given surface of the multiple exterior surfaces and asecond layer overlaying the first layer of conductive ink on an oppositeside of the first layer from the given surface of the multiple exteriorsurfaces, the second layer comprising a dielectric material.
 2. Thepackaging of claim 1 in which the dielectric material comprises apolymer.
 3. The packaging of claim 1 comprising a plurality of distinctmonitoring tracks and a plurality of storage volumes, each of thestorage volumes which is associated with a monitoring track of theplurality of distinct monitoring tracks.
 4. The packaging of claim 3,wherein the capacitive coupling pad comprises a plurality of capacitivecoupling pads, wherein a count of the plurality of capacitive couplingpads is at least a count of the plurality of storage volumes.
 5. Thepackaging of claim 4, wherein the plurality of capacitive coupling padsincludes one additional capacitive coupling pad that is electricallycoupled to multiple of the distinct monitoring tracks.
 6. The packagingof claim 3, comprising a number of capacitive coupling pads, wherein thenumber of capacitive coupling pads is less than a count of the pluralityof storage volumes.
 7. The packaging of claim 3, wherein each monitoringtrack is disposed on the frangible opening of one of the plurality ofstorage volumes.
 8. The packaging of claim 3, wherein the monitoringtracks associated with the plurality of storage volumes areinterconnected to form a network.
 9. The packaging of claim 8, whereinthe network includes a first network portion having a first resistanceand a second network portion having a second resistance, wherein thefirst resistance is different than the second resistance.
 10. Thepackaging of claim 9, wherein the first resistance is greater than thesecond resistance.
 11. The packaging of claim 10, wherein the firstnetwork portion is associated with a storage volume of the plurality ofstorage volumes and the second network portion is associated with ajoining section of the network that couples multiple differentmonitoring tracks to each other.
 12. A method comprising: printing agiven surface of a substrate including multiple exterior surfaces withconductive ink to provide a conductive track having a first capacitivecoupling pad and a second capacitive coupling pad disposed directly onthe given surface; overlaying a dielectric layer on an opposite side ofat least one of the first capacitive coupling pad and the secondcapacitive coupling pad that faces away from the given surface of themultiple exterior surfaces of the substrate; and forming a productpackaging comprising the substrate, the product packaging comprising astorage portion and a spatially distinct coupling portion, wherein thestorage portion includes a storage volume comprising multiple exteriorsurfaces including the given surface and an interior defined by one ormore walls extending laterally from the given surface, wherein one ormore interfaces between the one or more walls and the given surfacecircumscribe a frangible opening for accessing the interior of thestorage volume, and the coupling portion is free of any storage volumes,wherein the interior of the storage volume cannot be accessed unless theconductive track disposed directly on the given surface is broken, andwherein the first and second capacitive coupling pads are disposed onthe coupling portion and do not overlap any frangible opening of anystorage volumes.
 13. The method of claim 12 in which overlaying thedielectric layer comprises overlaying a polyethylene layer.
 14. Ablister pack comprising: a storage portion; a coupling portion that isspatially distinct from the storage portion and is free of any storagevolumes; a plurality of storage volumes disposed on the storage portion,wherein each of the plurality of storage volumes includes multipleexterior surfaces including a given surface and an interior defined byone or more walls extending laterally from the given surface, whereinone or more interfaces between the one or more walls and the givensurface circumscribe a frangible opening for accessing the interior ofthe storage volume; a plurality of monitoring tracks disposed directlyon the frangible openings of the plurality of storage volumes, whereinfor each monitoring track, when the respective frangible opening isbroken, the monitoring track is interrupted; and a plurality ofcapacitive coupling pads disposed on the coupling portion such that eachof the plurality of capacitive coupling pads does not overlap anyfrangible openings of any storage volumes, wherein the plurality ofcapacitive coupling pads are galvanically coupled with the plurality ofmonitoring tracks, each of the plurality of capacitive coupling padscomprising a conductive layer disposed directly on the given surface ofthe plurality of exterior surfaces and a protective layer overlaying theconductive layer on an opposite side of the conductive layer from thegiven surface of the plurality of exterior surfaces.
 15. The blisterpack of claim 14, wherein the protective layer comprises a dielectricmaterial.